The leafy main plaza is a fine place to take in San Cristóbal’s unhurried highland atmosphere. Shoe-shiners, newspaper sellers and ambulantes (mobile street vendors) gather around the elaborate iron bandstand.

　　The Hotel Santa Clara, on the plaza’s southeast corner, was built by Diego de Mazariegos, the Spanish conqueror of Chiapas. His coat of arms is engraved above the main portal. The building is a rare secular example of plateresque style in Mexico.